There is a Friend
by Sixty-four K
Summary: Friendship. That's an awfully strong word for it. And yet, Loki feels as though that could have been the case- in a different life, perhaps. Or maybe, if he had just worked harder at it to begin with. A collection of the closest encounters that Loki ever had with the mysterious forces of friendship. No slash. Chapter One: Man Out of Time


_**Thank you for clicking on this story! If you've read my other stories, you'll soon notice that this is quite different from my usual subject matter; however I thought that it was time that I try my hand at something new.**_

 _ **One very special thing about Loki is the fact that he evidently took the time to find out about each of the Avengers. He really hit them where it hurt, especially in Black Widow and Hulk's cases. I sometimes wonder, however, if in a better time, he could possibly become friends with them. Even now, he seemed to genuinely enjoy his time with some of the Avengers. This story will be a collection of one-shot character studies and short stories, exploring the possibilities of Loki's friendship with most of the people he met in his lifetime.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoy it. Please review- concrit will not be rejected :)**_

 _"One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother"_

 _~Proverbs 18:24_

 **No. 1- Man Out of Time**

The muffled sounds of hushed conversations slowly make their way towards the rear of the aircraft. The woman and the strange armoured man converse discreetly, a third man joining in on occasion. Every minute- on the dot, it seems- the whispering threesome turn a wary glance on their prisoner, a young man, chained to the wall of the ship. The prisoner, clad all in green, merely stares ahead of him towards some strange wonder only he can see, seemingly unaware of their questioning stares. To all appearances, he seems as though he couldn't care less about the subject of their conversation. And he doesn't. Why should he? It's all going according to plan.

Every now and then, however, the prisoner lets an eye rove away from the wall. Discreetly, carefully, it focuses on one man in particular- the Man Out of Time.

Loki(for who else is worthy of the effort put into this complicated captivity?) feels unsure of himself as he studies the soldier- bewildered, almost. He really shouldn't feel this way. Nothing happened in Stuttgart that affected anything important. And yet, it was strange. That encounter had gone differently than expected.

Loki is not one to deny praise from those deserving. He admits that the Captain is strong- stronger than he had previously believed any Midgardian to be capable of being. Nearly a match for him. Admitting this much has been painful, but by no means crippling. Far stranger than the soldier's strength was his attitude. Why was he so courteous, even in battle?

 _"The last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above all the others, we ended up disagreeing."_

When had the Captain been in Germany before? Ah, yes. The Great War. Loki had done some research, at least. When the hawk had told him where their target was, Loki had been pleased. Submission befitted these people. They had had a rest from it for seventy years, and, now, Loki would make this seventh decade into some sort of inverse Year of Jubilee.

If anything, Loki had thought that the Captain would agree with him about these Germans. Were they not getting what they deserved? Evidently, the soldier did not agree. It seemed as though he carried compassion for these people. One could argue that he should bear no grudge, for, in any case, it was the parents and grandparents of these people who had committed these sins. Loki knew, however, that many a soldier bears resentment, and even hatred, towards the people that he once fought- not just the warriors, but the peasants who inhabit the land, as the attitudes of the Aesir towards the inhabitants of Jotunheim so often demonstrated. Yet this super-soldier showed mercy towards these people. A man of virtue, indeed.

 _"I'm not the one who's out of time."_

How did he know? Loki was sure that, behind the obvious pun, the soldier had known exactly how he had felt at that time. Behind the armour, behind the maniacal grin, Loki had felt extremely foreign- archaic, almost. As much as he knew that people were intimidated by him, Loki was sure that they were laughing at him behind their terror-stricken faces. He didn't belong here. He was just a giant, oafish Viking, with little to no concept of modern Midgardian culture. And he didn't understand the sources of these peasants' amusement. What was amusing about his helmet? It was intimidating. It was beautiful: a symbol of his prowess as a warrior. Thus lay his problem. The Captain knew that Loki, too, was a Man Out of Time.

 _"Not today."_

What did that mean? Did it mean that someday he _would_ kneel? Why not just say "no"? This was what baffled Loki the most. He had pondered over this two-word sentence ever since being captured, and he still could make no sense of it.

Did the soldier feel sorry for him?

It didn't make any sense. They were enemies. Why should he feel sorry for him?

Could it be because they shared this _"lost in time_ " trait?

Ridiculous. But it was a hypothesis.

Despite being a 'Viking', Loki is a scientific-minded man. He knows that he needs to test this hypothesis before he can upgrade its status to theory.

Circumstances: Thunder and Lightning

Test Subject: Captain America

Variables: Other passengers on the aircraft; various environmental factors

It isn't the most ideal of experiments. There is no control, no opportunity to repeat the test. Nevertheless, it will have to do.

The lightning flashes. Loki winces visibly, attempting to look as pathetic as possible. Tony Stark and Natasha Romanov pay him no heed. Steve Rogers, however, turns to him, his face creased in a frown.

"Scared of a little lightning?"

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," Loki deadpans. He fights to hide a smirk, however small. It wasn't conclusive proof, but there it was. He had shown weakness, and Captain America, however irately, had shown him concern.

It might not mean anything- the Captain was a compassionate man- but, then again, it might.

After all, they were both Men Out of Time.


End file.
